Pensacola Fishing Forum - View Single Post

Framerguy · 08-01-2008, 12:03 AM

I have kayaked and canoed for the better part of 50 years and it is my opinion that, if you consider yourself an "advanced paddler" in both craft, I would think that by now you would know the main differences and pros and cons of each?? Both have certain benefits and certain drawbacks, in my opinion, and alot depends on what your main use for the watercraft will be.

I was a wilderness guide in the Quetico up in So. Ontario for 7 summers and canoed over 4000 miles in some of the most pristine wilderness in lower North America! I would nothave taken a kayak on any of those trips if they were free and I got paid to paddle them!!! They just wouldn't do the job needed to haul all your gear andclothing needed for a 2 or 3 week's trip into the wilderness. Just the freeze dried food alone would be more than your average kayak would have room to carry. Alot can happen on a 21 day wilderness trip and the weather can change on you, wind can make lakes as dangerous as the Gulf when they blow up 6 or 7' rollers on a 100' deep lake, and you may hit a "dry" period for fishing so you usually always have to carry enough food to last for the entire trip. Plus a kayak, particularly a SOT kayak, isn't the most fun to carry across a long rocky portage through heavy woods and brush.

For traveling or day tripping, you cannot beat a kayak for speed and maneuverability. And they far out work a canoe for most types of fishing although, if you have to portage to or from one lake into another or from stream to stream, a canoe will be much more adaptable to carrying than a SOT kayak. I have carried SIK kayaks with little or no trouble but a canoe is easily portaged and can carry so much more gear and supplies.

Forgeneral handling, speed, versatility, and overall enjoyment though, I have to give a two thumbs up to both types of kayaks. We got to the point in our fishing group up North where we wouldn't even fish with anyone in a canoe because, if we had to paddle very far to our honey holes, we had to stop and wait for the canoes every 15 minutes or so!!! They were just too slow to run with the kayaks. We could out distance them by over a quarter mile in just about 15 minutes of paddling, they were that fast compared to most aluminum canoes.

08-01-2008, 12:03 AM	#10
Framerguy Senior Member Grouper Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Niceville, FL Posts: 880	RE: Canoes? I have kayaked and canoed for the better part of 50 years and it is my opinion that, if you consider yourself an "advanced paddler" in both craft, I would think that by now you would know the main differences and pros and cons of each?? Both have certain benefits and certain drawbacks, in my opinion, and alot depends on what your main use for the watercraft will be. I was a wilderness guide in the Quetico up in So. Ontario for 7 summers and canoed over 4000 miles in some of the most pristine wilderness in lower North America! I would *not*have taken a kayak on any of those trips if they were free and I got paid to paddle them!!! They just wouldn't do the job needed to haul all your gear andclothing needed for a 2 or 3 week's trip into the wilderness. Just the freeze dried food alone would be more than your average kayak would have room to carry. Alot can happen on a 21 day wilderness trip and the weather can change on you, wind can make lakes as dangerous as the Gulf when they blow up 6 or 7' rollers on a 100' deep lake, and you may hit a "dry" period for fishing so you usually always have to carry enough food to last for the entire trip. Plus a kayak, particularly a SOT kayak, isn't the most fun to carry across a long rocky portage through heavy woods and brush. For traveling or day tripping, you cannot beat a kayak for speed and maneuverability. And they far out work a canoe for most types of fishing although, if you have to portage to or from one lake into another or from stream to stream, a canoe will be much more adaptable to carrying than a SOT kayak. I have carried SIK kayaks with little or no trouble but a canoe is easily portaged and can carry so much more gear and supplies. Forgeneral handling, speed, versatility, and overall enjoyment though, I have to give a two thumbs up to both types of kayaks. We got to the point in our fishing group up North where we wouldn't even fish with anyone in a canoe because, if we had to paddle very far to our honey holes, we had to stop and wait for the canoes every 15 minutes or so!!! They were just too slow to run with the kayaks. We could out distance them by over a quarter mile in just about 15 minutes of paddling, they were that fast compared to most aluminum canoes.